Equities in Canada’s largest market fell way behind Wednesday morning, and then battled much of the way back toward breakeven, as health-care and energy weighed things down.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index came off its lows of the late morning, but still fell behind Tuesday’s close by 57.45 points, to finish Wednesday’s session at 15,419.49
The Canadian dollar shot higher 0.56 cents to 74.54 cents U.S.
Health-care issued cried the loudest in pain Wednesday, with Microbix Systems taking off 1.5 cents, or 4.5%, to 32 cents, while Canopy Growth shed 14 cents, or 1.7%, to $7.95.
Energy stocks also fared not so well, as Encana Corp. slipped 43 cents, or 2.8%, to $14.70, while Ensign Energy Services gave back eight cents, or 1.1%, to $7.19.
Financials went south, too, as Bank of Montreal fell $3.15, or 3.3%, to $91.98, while the beleaguered Home Capital Group sank 25 cents, or 2.7%, to $8.99
Gold tried to provide a hand up Wednesday, as IAMGOLD advanced seven cents, or 1.2%, to $5.87, while Barrick Gold jumped 24 cents, or 1.1%, to $22.44.
Among materials, Lundin Mining vaulted 23 cents, or 3%, to $7.81.
Industrials were in the green, too, as Bombardier moved up seven cents, or 3.4%, to $2.16.
On the economic calendar, the Bank of Canada announced it was maintaining its target for the overnight interest rate at 0.5%. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 0.75% and the deposit rate is 0.25%
ON BAYSTREET
The TSX Venture Exchange dropped 1.28 points to 802.39
Seven of the 12 TSX subgroups ended the day lower, as health-care doffed 1.4%, energy lost 1.1% of its mojo, and financials were poorer 0.9%.
The five gainers were co-led by gold and materials, each climbing 0.6%, and industrials, better by 0.3%.
ON WALLSTREET
The good vibes among investors over the U.S. Federal Reserve's plan for scaling back its massive $4.5-trillion balance sheet sent equities soaring Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrials gained 74.51 points to 21,012.42, with Goldman Sachs powering the upward engine.
The S&P 500 moved higher 5.97 points to 2,404.39, as real-estate led advancers, to post a record close. The S&P and the Dow closed above their May 16 closing levels, wiping out last Wednesday's losses.
The NASDAQ strengthened 24.31 points to 6,163.02
The central bank sees a system where it will announce cap limits on how much it will allow to roll off each month without re-investing, according to the minutes from its May 3 meeting. Any amount it receives in repayments that exceeds the cap limit will be re-invested.
The Fed held off on raising rates earlier this month but most investors are expecting the central bank to hike again at its June 14 meeting. Experts say market expectations for a June rate hike are 83.1%.
In other economic news, total mortgage application volume increased 4.4% last week on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous week thanks largely to re-financings. More housing data will be released at 10 a.m., when existing home sales numbers come out.
Prices for the benchmark 10-year Treasury note were higher, forcing yields down to 2.25% from Tuesday’s 2.29%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions
Oil prices eased 14 cents at $51.33 U.S. a barrel
Gold prices progressed $1.60 at $1,257.10 U.S. an ounce.
